Today we entered the Manu River and the Reserve Zone of Manu National Park. The Reserve Zone is a recent addition to the national park and together with the Cultural Zone are the only parts of the park that allow visitors, the bulk of the park is restricted to scientists. Access is carefully managed and we had to call in at the park office to register.

From our lodge just south of Boca Manu we had about a 5 hour journey to Manu Lodge. The trip was slow but pleasant as we are now traveling upstream against the flow of the river. Along the way we saw many types of birds, butterflies, some turtles and a Jaguar. The jaguar sighting was a special treat as many parties come to Manu and do not see this magnificent animal. He (and it was a he) was sitting on a log on the river bank and was quite hard to see. Fortunately for us one of the party was diligently watching the shore through binoculars.

Our afternoon was devoted to animal watching on Cocha Salvador, an Oxbow lake a few kilometers from Manu Lodge (Cocha means Oxbow lake). There is a mobile viewing platform consisting of two canoes with a deck between them from which we moved around the lake looking both in the water and the adjacent forest for animals. We saw many types of birds, turtles, a few caiman (alligator like creature), but we did not see the giant Otters for which the lake is famous.

We stayed on the lake until after dark and walked back to the lodge by flashlight.